Apparatus and methods for associating a location fix having a quality of service with an event occuring on a wireless device

ABSTRACT

Apparatus and methods for estimating a geographical position corresponding to an event associated with operation of a wireless device communicating in a wireless communications network. The time and distance between the occurrence of the event and the related time and speed of the wireless device of at least one of a first and second location fix, respectively measured before and after the event, are analyzed. The first and second location fixes having Quality of Service (QoS) adjusted such that the resulting fixes are based at least partly on terrestrial wireless communication measurements. These analyses include comparing those metrics to predetermined time thresholds to validate a geographic position and, in some instances, determine a preferred geographic position to associate with the event.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The disclosed aspects relate to wireless devices and wirelesscommunication networks, and more particularly, to apparatus and methodsfor determining an estimated geographical position of a wireless devicecorresponding to events associated with wireless devices on a wirelessnetwork, in particular determining an estimated geographical positionfrom based on one or more location fixes having Quality of Service (QoS)adjusted so as to provide for fixes that are based at least partly onterrestrial wireless communication measurements.

2. Background

Many wireless communications devices, such as mobile phones, pagers,handheld computers, etc., have the ability to determine the locationparameters associated with the geographical position of a wirelessdevice on the surface of the earth. The location parameters may includethe position and speed coordinates for the wireless device. The wirelessdevice may include a geographical position location system in the formof hardware, software and/or firmware and other associated parameters.One exemplary wireless device geographical position location systemreceives and analyzes location parameters derived from the GlobalPositioning System (GPS), a radio-navigation system, developed andoperated by the U.S. Defense Department, that includes a series of 24constellation satellites orbiting the earth at a distance ofapproximately 20,000 kilometers. The GPS position location parameterspermit wireless device processors to determine their respective threedimensional positions and velocities using very precise locationparameters and timing signals received from the satellites.

Currently various modes of operation exist for determining locationusing satellites. For example, GPS, Galileo, GLONASS (GLObal NAvigationSatellite System) or other satellite-based systems may rely on a MobileStation-Based (MS-Based) mode, a Mobile Station-Assisted (MS-Assisted)mode, a Standalone mode or any other feasible mode currently known orknown in the future. The various modes offer different methods fordetermining location. For example, in MS-Based mode the wireless deviceobtains information related to the location of satellites from a networkLocation Determining Entity (PDE) and then performs the locationdetermination calculation at the wireless communication device. Thesatellite location information is commonly referred to as Ephemeris dataand Almanac data. Almanac data is course orbital parameters for all thesatellites in the system and is considered valid for up to severalmonths. Ephemeris data by comparison is very precise orbital and clockcorrection for each satellite and is considered valid for about 30minutes. Thus, in MS-Based mode a wireless device may, but is not alwaysrequired to, obtain the information from the PDE depending on thecurrentness of the satellite information.

In MS-Assisted mode the wireless device relies on the PDE to perform thelocation determination and, as such, is required to communicate with thePDE each time a location determination is performed. Therefore, bycomparison, while MS-Based mode requires a wireless signal tocommunicate with the PDE for some of the location determinations,MS-Assisted mode requires a wireless signal to communicate with the PDEfor all of the location determinations.

In contrast, in Standalone mode all the functions are carried out at thewireless device and, since no PDE satellite information is required, nowireless signal is required. However, Standalone mode requires that thewireless device receive signals from all four of the GPS satellites,while MS-Assisted mode only requires communication with one or two ofthe satellites to determine position. Thus, Standalone mode has a highfailure rate when attempts are made indoors, while the MS-Assisted modeis typically the mode of preference when attempts are made indoors.

In current practice, the applicable location determination mode isdefined by the application or is chosen at the initialization/start-upstage. Thus, the chosen mode applies to location determinations requestseven if the mode may not be the best mode for all scenarios. Variousconditions may exist throughout the executing duration of an applicationthat are relevant to the effectiveness of the chosen mode. For example,MS-Assisted mode requires a wireless signal, such as a CDMA (CodeDivision Multiple Access) signal or GSM (Global System for Mobile)signal and, therefore, if the chosen mode is MS-Assisted, locationdetermination will not occur if the wireless signal is not active. Otherconditions that affect the performance of location determination modesare the current environment of the device, battery life, voice callstate, data call state, the currentness of the PDE satellite informationand the like.

In addition to relying on satellites to determine location, certainmodes, such as MS-Assisted mode or the like, may take base stationmeasurements to provide a terrestrial-based location determination.Terrestrial measurements and associated terrestrial-based locationdetermination refers to any terrestrial-based measurements andterrestrial-based location determination that does not involve the useof satellite signals and measurements. Examples of terrestrial-basedmethods used to determine wireless device location include, but are notlimited to, Advanced Forward Link Trilateration (AFLT), Enhanced ForwardLink Trilateration (EFLT), Enhanced Observed Time Difference (EOTD), andthe like. AFLT is the method generally associated with MS-Assisted modeand is a wireless device-based location determination method that uses atime difference of arrival technique to determine location. To determinelocation, the wireless device takes measurements of signals from nearbycellular base stations and reports the time/distance readings back tothe network, which are then used to triangulate an approximate locationof the wireless device. In general, at least three surrounding basestations are needed to obtain an optimal AFLT location fix. However,terrestrial-based methods tend to be less accurate than satellite-basedlocation fixes.

As previously noted, satellite-based location determination methodsgenerally require information from at least three satellites. Thus, thewireless device must be located in an area capable of receivinginformation from multiple satellites. Indoor locations, dense urbanareas, and certain natural structures, like canyons and the like, maypose resistance to accurate and time efficient satellite fixes. Inaddition, other limitations such as erratic ionospheric conditions,noise at the wireless device level and the like may prohibit obtaining asatellite-based fix or impact the accuracy of the satellite-based fix.In these instances, it may be desirable to rely on terrestrial-basedmeasurements to provide a less accurate, lower quality locationdetermination.

In the same regard, certain wireless device applications that requirelocation information may be more concerned with the speed in which alocation determination fix occurs as opposed to the accuracy of thelocation fix. For example, in the mobile environment, applications thattrack the occurrence of a call event, such as a call drop, a callfailure or the like, may be more concerned with determining the locationat the moment the call event occurs as opposed to determining a moreaccurate location at a point in time removed from the call event. Thisis especially evident in the scenario in which the call event occurs ina moving vehicle; the call event tracking application desires animmediate location determination fix, regardless of accuracy, to be ableto associate location with the call event. If the call event trackingapplication has to wait a certain amount of time for the locationdetermination fix, the resulting location may be a significant distancefrom the location at which the call event occurred, depending on thespeed of the vehicle. In this instance, the application may place ahigher priority on speed at which a location is determined as opposed tothe precise accuracy of the determined location.

Unfortunately, there are other problems associated with the use of GPSand other position location information by the wireless device that havenot been addressed. Each time a wireless device requests and retrievesposition location information, the request and retrieval processingconsumes a relatively large amount of wireless device power. Further, ifthe wireless device does not support simultaneous voice and data calls,then the device will not be able to get a location fix during a voicecall, or make a voice call during retrieval of a location fix. Also, theperiod of time from when the wireless device makes a requests forposition fix information to when the wireless device receives theposition fix information may be significant, depending on such factorsas the relative position of the wireless device to the location of thesatellite, the speed at which the wireless device is traveling, theperformance of the position location processing system of the wirelessdevice, the type of location determination system employed (for example,GPS, Assisted GPS, or other location determination system), and theperformance characteristics of the wireless device antenna. Suchparameters may exacerbate the ability of the wireless device toaccurately determine the geographical position of the wireless devicewithout draining wireless device power sources. The foregoing isparticularly troubling when it is important to determine the position ofthe wireless device upon the occurrence of wireless device operationalevents, such as a call drop event on a cellular telephone.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects inorder to provide a basic understanding of such aspects. This summary isnot an extensive overview of all contemplated aspects, and is intendedto neither identify key or critical elements of all aspects nordelineate the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is topresent some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as aprelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

To address one or more of the drawbacks of the prior art, the disclosedaspects provide systems and methods for determining if a given locationfix having a downward adjusted Quality of Service (QoS) is valid toassociate with an event occurring on the wireless device and, if morethan one location fix having a downward adjusted QoS is determined to bevalid, the preferred location fix to associate with the event. Downwardadjustment to the QoS for a vine location determination mode, such asMS-Assisted or the like, results in less search time allotted to acquirelocation measurements. As such, the fix that is returned based on thedownward adjustment of the QoS is at least partly based on terrestrialwireless communication measurements, such as measurements taken at thebase station or the like. In certain aspects, downward adjustment of theQoS will result in a location fix that does not include measurementsbased on satellites.

According to one aspect, a method is defined for estimating ageographical position corresponding to a wireless device event, such asa predetermined operation of the wireless device, a predeterminedconfigurable sequences of data associated with the operation of thedevice or the like. The method includes receiving at least one of afirst geographical position data of the wireless device corresponding toa first location fix having a first Quality of Service (QoS) and asecond geographical position data of the wireless device correspondingto a second location fix having a second QoS. The first and second QoSresult in fixes based at least partly on terrestrial wirelesscommunication measurements. The method also includes determining anestimated geographical position of the wireless device based on apredetermined relationship between the event and at least one of thefirst geographical position data and the second geographical positiondata. In one optional aspect, the method may also include initiating themethod based upon an event tracking configuration, for example,transmitting an event-tracking configuration to a wireless device acrossa wireless network. The event tracking configuration controls theretrieval of at least one of the first geographical position data andthe second geographical position data from a processing subsystem of thewireless device.

In one optional aspect of the method the predetermined relationshipresults in application of an estimated geographical position algorithmspecific to both first and second fixes being based at least partly onterrestrial wireless communication measurements. Further, in certainaspects at least one of the first geographical position data and thesecond geographical position data correspond to aMobile-Station-Assisted (MS-Assisted) mode of location determination,for example, an Advanced Forward Link Trilateration (AFLT) location fixand, in more specific aspects, the AFLT location fix results from aMobile Station-Assisted (MS-Assisted) location determination mode.

In one specific optional aspect of the method, the first geographicalposition data of the wireless device corresponds to a first fixedgeographical position of the wireless device before a time correspondingto the event and the second geographical position data of the wirelessdevice corresponds to a second fixed geographical position of thewireless device after the time corresponding to the event.

In a further optional aspect of the method, determining an estimatedgeographical position of the wireless device based on a predeterminedrelationship comprises selecting the estimated geographical position ofthe wireless device from one of the first geographical position data ofthe wireless device and the second geographical position data of thewireless device. In such aspects, the predetermined relationship mayfurther include one or more time relationships comprising a timedifference between (a) a time corresponding to the event and (b) a timecorresponding to any one of the first geographical position data and thesecond geographical position data. In such aspects, the method mayfurther include comparing the one or more time relationships to one ormore corresponding predetermined time thresholds. The one or more timethresholds may include a predetermined time threshold and a low timethreshold. The predetermined time threshold may be defined as apredetermined maximum time difference between (a) a time correspondingto either one of the first geographical position data of the wirelessdevice and the second geographical position data of the wireless device,and (b) a time corresponding to the event. The low time threshold may becalculated or predefined and may be defined as a time taken by thewireless device to travel a predetermined distance threshold at apredetermined maximum speed.

Further optional aspects of the method may include selecting the firstgeographic position data as a basis for the estimated geographicposition if, the first geographical position data corresponds to a firstfixed geographical position of the wireless device before a timecorresponding to the event and the first time difference between (a) atime corresponding to the first geographical position data, and (b) atime corresponding to the event is within the low time threshold; andthe second geographical position data corresponds to a second fixedgeographic position of the wireless device after the time correspondingto the event and the second time difference between (a) the timecorresponding to the first geographical position data, and (b) a timecorresponding to the event is outside of the time threshold.

Yet another further optional aspect of the method may include selectingthe second geographic position data as a basis for the estimatedgeographic position if, the first geographical position data correspondsto a first fixed geographical position of the wireless device before atime corresponding to the event and the first time difference between(a) a time corresponding to the first geographical position data, and(b) a time corresponding to the event is outside of the low timethreshold; and the second geographical position data corresponds to asecond fixed geographic position of the wireless device after the timecorresponding to the event and the second time difference between (a)the time corresponding to the first geographical position data, and (b)a time corresponding to the event is within the time threshold.

Yet another further optional aspect of the method may include selectingone of the first geographical position data and the second geographicalposition data as a basis for the estimated geographical position if thefirst geographical position data corresponds to a first fixedgeographical position of the wireless device before a time correspondingto the event and the first time difference between (a) a timecorresponding to the first geographical position data and (b) a timecorresponding to the event is within the low time threshold; and thesecond geographical position data corresponds to a second fixedgeographic position of the wireless device after the time correspondingto the event and the second time difference between (a) a timecorresponding to the first geographical position data, and (b) a timecorresponding to the event is within the time threshold. In such anaspect, the method may further include determining a preferredgeographical position data from among the first and second geographicalposition data based on a comparison of the first time difference to thesecond time difference less a time bias. The time bias is defined as anaverage difference between (a) a time corresponding to geographicalposition data and (c) the time corresponding to a request for thegeographical position data. Thus, a further aspect of the method mayinclude selecting the first geographical position data as a basis forthe estimated geographic position if the first time difference is lessthan the second time difference less the time bias or selecting thesecond geographic position data as a basis for the estimated geographicposition if the first time difference is greater than or equal to thesecond time difference less the time bias.

A further aspect of the innovation is defined by at least one processorconfigured to estimate a geographical position corresponding to awireless device event. The processor includes a first module forreceiving at least one of a first geographical position data of thewireless device corresponding to a first location fix having a firstQuality of Service (QoS) and a second geographical position data of thewireless device corresponding to a second location fix having a secondQoS. The first and second QoS result in fixes based at least partly onterrestrial wireless communication measurements. The processoradditionally includes a second module for determining an estimatedgeographical position of the wireless device based on a predeterminedrelationship between the event and at least one of the firstgeographical position data and the second geographical position data.

Yet another related aspect is provided for by a computer program productthat includes a computer-readable medium. The medium includes a firstset of codes for causing a computer to receive at least one of a firstgeographical position data of the wireless device corresponding to afirst location fix having a first Quality of Service (QoS) and a secondgeographical position data of the wireless device corresponding to asecond location fix having a second QoS. The first and second QoS resultin fixes based at least partly on terrestrial wireless communicationmeasurements. The medium additionally includes a second set of codes forcausing a computer to determine an estimated geographical position ofthe wireless device based on a predetermined relationship between theevent and at least one of the first geographical position data and thesecond geographical position data.

An apparatus defines yet another aspect of the innovation. The apparatusincludes means for receiving at least one of a first geographicalposition data of the wireless device corresponding to a first locationfix having a first Quality of Service (QoS) location fix and a secondgeographical position data of the wireless device corresponding to asecond location fix having a second QoS. The first and second QoS resultin fixes based at least partly on terrestrial wireless communicationmeasurements. The apparatus also includes means for determining anestimated geographical position of the wireless device based on apredetermined relationship between the event and at least one of thefirst geographical position data and the second geographical positiondata.

Another aspect of the innovation is defined by an apparatus forestimating a geographical position corresponding to a wireless deviceevent, such as predetermined operation of the wireless device, one ormore predetermined configurable sequences of data associated with anoperation of the wireless device or the like. The apparatus includes anevent position determination module operable to receive at least one ofa first set of location fix information of the wireless devicecorresponding to a first location fix having a first Quality of Service(QoS) and a second set of location fix information of the wirelessdevice corresponding to a second location fix having a second QoS. Thefirst and second QoS result in fixes based at least partly onterrestrial wireless communication measurements. The apparatus alsoincludes an event position determination logic included in the moduleand operable to determine an estimated geographical position of thewireless device to associate with the event based on a predeterminedrelationship between the event and at least one of the first set oflocation fix information and the second set of location fix information.In one optional aspect, at least one of the first set of location fixinformation and the second set of location information are generatedbased on a detection of a predetermined event on the wireless device. Assuch, the event position determination module may be optionally operableto transmit an event-tracking configuration across a wireless network tothe wireless device. The event-tracking configuration is executable bythe wireless device to generate at least one of the first set oflocation fix information and the second set of location information.

In one optional aspect of the apparatus the predetermined relationshipresults in application of an estimated geographical position algorithmspecific to both first and second fixes being based at least partly onterrestrial wireless communication measurements. Further, in certainaspects at least one of the first geographical position data and thesecond geographical position data correspond to aMobile-Station-Assisted (MS-Assisted) mode of location determination,for example, an Advanced Forward Link Trilateration (AFLT) location fixand, in more specific aspects, the AFLT location fix results from aMobile Station-Assisted (MS-Assisted) location determination mode.

In one optional aspect of the apparatus, the first location fixinformation corresponds to a first location fix time prior to an eventtime and the second location fix information corresponds to a secondlocation fix time after the event time.

In a further optional aspect, the event position determination logic isfurther operable to determine the estimated geographical position basedupon selecting one of the first location fix information and the secondlocation fix information. In such aspects, the predeterminedrelationship comprises one or more time relationships comprising a timedifference between (a) an event time corresponding to the event and (b)a time corresponding to either one of the first location fix informationand the second location fix information. In such aspects, the eventposition determination logic may be further operable to compare the oneor more time relationships to one or more corresponding predeterminedtime thresholds. The one or more predetermined time thresholds mayinclude a predetermined time threshold and a low time threshold. Thepredetermined time threshold may be defined as a predetermined maximumtime difference between (a) a time corresponding to either one of thefirst location fix information and the second location fix information,and (b) the event time. The low time threshold may be defined as a timetaken by the wireless device to travel the predetermined distancethreshold at a predetermined maximum speed.

In one aspect of the apparatus, the event position determination logicis operable to select the first location fix information as a basis forthe estimated geographic position if, the first location fix informationcorresponds to a first fixed geographical position of the wirelessdevice before a time corresponding to the event and a first timedifference between (a) a time corresponding to the first location fixinformation and (b) a time corresponding to the event is within the lowtime threshold, and; the second location fix information corresponds toa second fixed geographic position of the wireless device after the timecorresponding to the event and a second time difference between (a) thetime corresponding to the first location fix information, and (b) a timecorresponding to the event is outside of the time threshold.

In another optional aspect of the apparatus, the event positiondetermination logic is operable to select the second location fixinformation as a basis for the estimated geographic position if, thefirst location fix information corresponds to a first fixed geographicalposition of the wireless device before a time corresponding to the eventand a first time difference between (a) a time corresponding to thefirst location fix information and (b) a time corresponding to the eventis outside of the low time threshold; and the second location fixinformation corresponds to a second fixed geographic position of thewireless device after the time corresponding to the event and a secondtime difference between (a) the time corresponding to the first locationfix information, and (b) a time corresponding to the event is within thetime threshold.

In yet a further optional aspect of the apparatus, the event positionlogic is operable to select one of the first location fix informationand the second location fix information as the estimated geographicalposition if, the first location fix information corresponds to a firstfixed geographical position of the wireless device before a timecorresponding to the event and a first time difference between (a) atime corresponding to the first location fix information and (b) a timecorresponding to the event is within the low time threshold; and thesecond location fix information corresponds to a second fixed geographicposition of the wireless device after the time corresponding to theevent and a second time difference between (a) the time corresponding tothe first location fix information, and (b) a time corresponding to theevent is within the time threshold. In such aspects, the event positionlogic may be further operable to determining a preferred location fixinformation from among the first and second location fix informationbased on a comparison of the first time difference to the second timedifference less a time bias, where the time bias is defined as anaverage difference between (a) a time corresponding to location fixinformation and (c) the time corresponding to a request for the locationfix information. Thus, the event position logic may be further operableto select the first location fix information as a basis for theestimated geographic position if the first time difference is less thanthe second time difference less the time bias or to select the secondlocation fix information as a basis for the estimated geographicposition if the first time difference is greater than or equal to thanor equal to the second time difference less the time bias.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the one or moreaspects comprise the features hereinafter fully described andparticularly pointed out in the claims. The following description andthe annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative featuresof the one or more aspects. These features are indicative, however, ofbut a few of the various ways in which the principles of various aspectsmay be employed, and this description is intended to include all suchaspects and their equivalents.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosed aspects will hereinafter be described in conjunction withthe appended drawings provided to illustrate and not to limit thedisclosed aspects, wherein like designations denote like elements, andin which:

FIG. 1 is a representative diagram of one aspect of a position systemassociated with a wireless device and a wireless communication network;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of one aspect of a cellular telephonenetwork aspect of the system of FIG. 1, including one aspect of acomputer platform of the computer device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is one aspect of an architecture diagram of the computer platformof FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is one aspect of an architecture diagram of the user manager ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of one aspect of a method of associating ageographic position with an event occurring on a wireless device;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of another exemplary general aspect using multiplethresholds to determine a position location for a wireless devicecorresponding to an event;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart continuation of FIG. 6 illustrating a first casescenario;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart continuation of FIG. 6 illustrating a second casescenario;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart continuation of FIG. 4 illustrating a third casescenario;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart continuation of FIG. 6 illustrating a fourth casescenario;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart continuation of FIG. 6 illustrating a fifth casescenario;

FIGS. 12 and 13 are exemplary time line examples pertaining to an aspectof two GPS fixes and multiple events;

FIGS. 14 and 15 are exemplary time line examples pertaining to theaspect of FIG. 6;

FIGS. 16-18 are exemplary time line examples pertaining to the aspect ofthe first case of FIG. 7;

FIGS. 19-22 are exemplary time line examples pertaining to the aspect ofthe second case of FIG. 8;

FIGS. 23-25 are exemplary time line examples pertaining to the aspect ofthe third case of FIG. 9;

FIGS. 26 and 27 are exemplary time line examples pertaining to theaspect of the fourth case of FIG. 10; and

FIGS. 28 and 29 are exemplary time line examples pertaining to theaspect of the fifth case of FIG. 11.

FIG. 30 is a flowchart of another exemplary general aspect usingmultiple thresholds to determine a position location for a wirelessdevice corresponding to an event;

FIG. 31-34 are exemplary time line examples pertaining to the aspectsdepicted in FIG. 30.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various aspects are now described with reference to the drawings. In thefollowing description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specificdetails are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding ofone or more aspects. It may be evident, however, that such aspect(s) maybe practiced without these specific details.

As used in this application, the terms “component,” “module,” “system”and the like are intended to include a computer-related entity, such asbut not limited to hardware, firmware, a combination of hardware andsoftware, software, or software in execution. For example, a componentmay be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, aprocessor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program,and/or a computer. By way of illustration, both an application runningon a computing device and the computing device can be a component. Oneor more components can reside within a process and/or thread ofexecution and a component may be localized on one computer and/ordistributed between two or more computers. In addition, these componentscan execute from various computer readable media having various datastructures stored thereon. The components may communicate by way oflocal and/or remote processes such as in accordance with a signal havingone or more data packets, such as data from one component interactingwith another component in a local system, distributed system, and/oracross a network such as the Internet with other systems by way of thesignal.

Furthermore, various aspects are described herein in connection with aterminal, which can be a wired terminal or a wireless terminal. Aterminal can also be called a system, device, subscriber unit,subscriber station, mobile station, mobile, mobile device, remotestation, remote terminal, access terminal, user terminal, terminal,communication device, user agent, user device, or user equipment (UE). Awireless terminal may be a cellular telephone, a satellite phone, acordless telephone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, awireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), ahandheld device having wireless connection capability, a computingdevice, or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem.Moreover, various aspects are described herein in connection with a basestation. A base station may be utilized for communicating with wirelessterminal(s) and may also be referred to as an access point, a Node B, orsome other terminology.

Moreover, the term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” ratherthan an exclusive “or.” That is, unless specified otherwise, or clearfrom the context, the phrase “X employs A or B” is intended to mean anyof the natural inclusive permutations. That is, the phrase “X employs Aor B” is satisfied by any of the following instances: X employs A; Xemploys B; or X employs both A and B. In addition, the articles “a” and“an” as used in this application and the appended claims shouldgenerally be construed to mean “one or more” unless specified otherwiseor clear from the context to be directed to a singular form.

The techniques described herein may be used for various wirelesscommunication systems such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA and othersystems. The terms “system” and “network” are often usedinterchangeably. A CDMA system may implement a radio technology such asUniversal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), cdma2000, etc. UTRA includesWideband-CDMA (W-CDMA) and other variants of CDMA. Further, cdma2000covers IS-2000, IS-95 and IS-856 standards. A TDMA system may implementa radio technology such as Global System for Mobile Communications(GSM). An OFDMA system may implement a radio technology such as EvolvedUTRA (E-UTRA), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM□, etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are partof Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS). 3GPP Long TermEvolution (LTE) is a release of UMTS that uses E-UTRA, which employsOFDMA on the downlink and SC-FDMA on the uplink. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTEand GSM are described in documents from an organization named “3rdGeneration Partnership Project” (3GPP). Additionally, cdma2000 and UMBare described in documents from an organization named “3rd GenerationPartnership Project 2” (3GPP2). Further, such wireless communicationsystems may additionally include peer-to-peer (e.g., mobile-to-mobile)ad hoc network systems often using unpaired unlicensed spectrums, 802.xxwireless LAN, BLUETOOTH and any other short- or long-range, wirelesscommunication techniques.

Various aspects or features will be presented in terms of systems thatmay include a number of devices, components, modules, and the like. Itis to be understood and appreciated that the various systems may includeadditional devices, components, modules, etc. and/or may not include allof the devices, components, modules etc. discussed in connection withthe figures. A combination of these approaches may also be used.

The following discussion is an overview of the aspects of FIGS. 1-34. Ingeneral, these described aspects deal with apparatus and methods ofdetermining a geographic position to associate with a detected eventoccurring on a wireless device. In these aspects, the wireless devicedetects an event based on a predetermined event-tracking configuration.Further, the wireless device includes logic that triggers the retrievalof post-event location fix information upon detection of the event.Additionally, the wireless device may have pre-event location fixinformation from prior to the occurrence of the detected event. A usermanager/server across a wireless network retrieves all of thisinformation from the wireless device, and includes an event positiondetermination module to determine a geographic position to associatewith the detected event based on this information. In particular, theevent position determination module includes a number of predeterminedconditions, based on a number of predetermined parameters, and appliesthese conditions in a predetermined manner to at least one of the pre-and post-event location fix information in order to make thisdetermination. In one aspect, the event position determination modulemay attempt to determine location based on fixes that have adjustedQuality of Services For example, in one aspect, the QoS for a fix may beadjusted downward to provide for a faster return of the fix. In suchinstances, the search time is limited and the location determinationmode implemented may be limited to returning a fix based at least partlyon terrestrial wireless communication measurements, such as AFLT or thelike.

Generally, in some aspects, in which the QoS is not adjusted or isadjusted upward to allow for additional search time, these predeterminedconditions associate a given satellite-based location fix (e.g. alocation fix that relies on determining positioning using satellites orthe like), with an event if: (1) a time difference between a timeassociated with the location fix and the event time is within apredetermined time threshold; and (2) a distance traveled from thelocation fix, computed based on a wireless device velocity/speed and thetime difference, is within a predetermined distance threshold; or (3)when a velocity/speed of the wireless device associated with thelocation fix is not known, and the time difference is within a low timethreshold, which is computed as the time needed to travel thepredetermined distance threshold at a predetermined maximum speed.Further, if deciding between both a pre- and post-event location fixthat satisfy both the time threshold and the distance threshold (both(1) and (2) above), then the determination module associates thelocation fix having the smallest distance traveled with the event.Similarly, if deciding between both a pre- and post-event location fixthat satisfy both the time threshold and the low time threshold (both(1) and (3) above), then the determination module associates thelocation fix having the smallest time difference with the event.

Additionally, in other aspects these predetermined conditions associatea given location fix having a QoS that results in a fix at least partlybased on terrestrial wireless communication measurements with an eventif: (1) a time difference between a time associated with the post-eventlocation fix and the event time is within a predetermined timethreshold; and (2) a time difference between a time associated with thepre-event location fix geographic position and the event time is withina low time threshold, which is computed as the time needed to travel thepredetermined distance threshold at a predetermined maximum speed.Further, if deciding between both a pre- and post-event location fixthat satisfy both the time threshold for the post-event position and thelow time threshold for the pre-event position, then the determinationmodule associates the “preferred” fix between the pre-event fix and thepost-event fix. The “preferred” fix is the pre-event location fix if thetime difference between the pre-event fix and the event is determined tobe less than the time difference between the post-event fix and theevent less the terrestrial-based fix time bias. In which, the locationfix time bias is defined as the average difference between the time ofan location fix and the time at which the location fix is requested.

Thus, these described aspects provide a relatively uncomplicatedsolution for determining whether or not to associate a given geographicposition with an event occurring on a wireless device. The details ofthe apparatus and methods are described below.

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, one aspect of a system or apparatus 10 forassociating a geographic position with an operational event on awireless device includes a plurality of wireless devices 12, 14, 16, 17,18 that each include an event tracking module 20 and a location module22. Event tracking module 20 is operable to gather event information 24associated with an event 26 occurring on the respective wireless device,and to cause location module 22 to retrieve location fix information 28,including a geographic position 29, upon detection of event 26. Locationmodule 22 may retrieve location fix information 28 from a positiondetermination entity 30 located across wireless network 32. Eachrespective wireless device 12, 14, 16, 17, 18 stores event information24 and location fix information 28 in a data log 34, which isretrievable by a user manager server 36 located across wireless network32. It should be noted that data log 34 may include at least one, or aplurality of location fix information 28, and hence at least one, or aplurality of geographic positions 29. The plurality of location fixinformation 28 may be caused by prior or subsequent events detected byevent tracking module 20, by configured periodic retrievals of locationfix information performed by location module 22, and/or by location fixinformation dictated by other modules or applications operating on therespective wireless device. Additionally, location fix information 28may be associated with a location fix having a non-adjusted QoS or anupward adjusted QoS, which generally results in a satellite-based fix,or the location fix information 28 may be associated with a downwardadjusted QoS, which generally results in a fix at least partly based onterrestrial wireless communication measurements. In any case, usermanager 36 includes an event position determination module 38 havinglogic 40 executable by a processing engine 42 to generate an eventrecord 44 that associates an estimated geographic position 46 withdetected event 26 if one or more predetermined conditions 48 aresatisfied, as will be discussed in more detail below.

In one aspect, wireless devices 12, 14, 16, 17, 18 are positioned withina wireless network area 50 and communicate across wireless network 32with each other, and/or with a user manager server 36. User manager 36may communicate with wireless devices 12, 14, 16, 17, 18 through adirect, wired connection or through a wireless connection, such asthrough a network interface 52 in communication with wireless networkarea 50. The communications between user manager 36 and wireless devices12, 14, 16, 17, 18 may include, for example, downloads of all, orselected portions (such as particular test suites), of event trackingmodule 20 and uploads of data logs 34 back to user manager 36.

The following discussion employs FIGS. 1-29 to provide a detaileddescription of the disclosed aspects. Beginning with FIG. 1, system 10illustrated in this figure is a representative diagram of the describedaspects associated with wireless devices functioning in a wirelesscommunication network. FIG. 1 has three main components, namely a firstcomponent wireless network area 50, a second component network interface52, and a third component user manager 36.

Beginning with the first component, wireless network area 50 includes aplurality of wireless devices 12, 14, 16, 17, 18 wirelessly connected toa wireless network 32. The wireless network 32 provides a wirelesscommunications connection across network interface 52 to a user managerserver 36.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the wireless devices can include any mobile orportable communications device, such as cellular telephone 12, personaldigital assistant 14, two-way text pager 16, a laptop computer 17, atablet computer, and even a separate computer platform 18 that has awireless communication portal, and which also may have a wiredconnection 19 to a network or the Internet. Additionally, the wirelessdevice can be a remote-slave, or other device that does not have anend-user thereof but simply communicates data across the wirelessnetwork 32. For example, the wireless device may include a remotesensor, a diagnostic tool, a data relay, and the like. The describedaspects for estimating a geographical position corresponding to awireless device event can be applied to any form of wirelesscommunications device or module, including a wireless communicationportal, a wireless modem, PCMCIA cards, access terminals, personalcomputers, telephones, or any combination or sub-combination thereof.

As further illustrated in FIG. 1, wireless network 32 includes anycommunications network operable, at least in part, for enabling wirelesscommunications between a respective wireless device 12, 14, 16, 17, 18and any other device connected to wireless network 32. Further wirelessnetwork 32 includes all network components, and all connected devicesthat form the network. Wireless network 32 may include at least one, orany combination, of: a cellular telephone network; a terrestrialtelephone network; a satellite telephone network; an infrared networksuch as an Infrared Data Association (IrDA)-based network; a short-rangewireless network; a Bluetooth® technology network; a home radiofrequency (HomeRF) network; a shared wireless access protocol (SWAP)network; an ultra wide band (UWB) network; a ZigBee® protocol network; awideband network, such as a wireless Ethernet compatibility alliance(WECA) network, a wireless fidelity alliance (Wi-Fi Alliance) network,and a 802.11 network; a public switched telephone network; a publicheterogeneous communications network, such as the Internet; a privatecommunications network; and land mobile radio network. Suitable examplesof telephone networks include at least one, or any combination, ofanalog and digital networks/technologies, such as: PersonalCommunications Services, code division multiple access, wideband codedivision multiple access, universal mobile telecommunications system,advanced mobile phone service, time division multiple access, frequencydivision multiple access, global system for mobile communication, analogand digital satellite systems, and any other technologies/protocols thatmay be used in at least one of a wireless communications network and adata communications network.

Each of wireless devices 12, 14, 16, 17, 18 is illustrated to include aresident event tracking module 20 and location module 22. These modulesmay be located resident to the wireless devices 12, 14, 16, 17, 18, asshown, or alternatively may be remotely accessible from the wirelessdevices 12, 14, 16, 17, 18. Modules 20 and 22 include any combination ofsoftware, hardware, firmware and generally any executable instructionsoperable by one or more processors resident on or remote from wirelessdevices 12, 14, 16, 17, 18. The features and functions of resident eventtracking module 20 and location module 22, including their components,are described further in the aspects below.

As noted, the second component of FIG. 1 is network interface 52.Network interface 52 may be any mechanism that allows user managerserver 36 and/or position determination entity 30 to communicate withwireless network 32. For example, network interface 52 may include alocal area network that connects user manager server 36 and/or positiondetermination entity 30 through an Internet Service Provider to theInternet, which in turn may be connected to a respective wireless devicethrough a carrier network and a base station.

The third component illustrated in FIG. 1 is user manager server 36.User manager server 36 may be any combination of processors, includinghardware, firmware, software, and combinations thereof, and memory,including read-only memory (“ROM”), random-access memory (“RAM”), EPROM,EEPROM, flash memory cells, secondary or tertiary storage devices, suchas magnetic media, optical media, tape, or soft or hard disk, comprisingone or more platforms, such as servers, personal computers,mini-mainframes, mainframes, etc.

User manager server 36 includes data log 34, which is a data repositoryoperable to store a collection of the plurality of location fixinformation 28 and also event information 24. This information isreceived by user manager server 36 from across wireless network 32 fromeach of the wireless devices 12, 14, 16, 17, 18 based on their givenconfiguration. Data log 34 may be resident on user manager server 36, asshown, or remotely accessible from user manager 36. The features andfunctions associated with data log 34, including its components, aredescribed further in the aspects below.

Processing engine 42 may be any combination of processors, including anapplication-specific integrated circuit (“ASIC”), a chipset, aprocessor, a microprocessor, a logic circuit, and any other dataprocessing device, functioning in association with related memory,including read-only memory (“ROM”), random-access memory (“RAM”), EPROM,EEPROM, flash memory cells, secondary or tertiary storage devices, suchas magnetic media, optical media, tape, or soft or hard disk, whetherresident on user manager server 36 or remotely accessible from usermanager server 36. Processing engine 42 performs one or more processingfunctions for user manager server 36. Accordingly, processing engine 42may execute a module resident on or remotely assessable by user managerserver 36 to perform a given function. The features and functionsassociated with processing engine 42, including its components, aredescribed further in the aspects below.

Event position determination module 38, including its components eventposition determination logic 40 and predetermined conditions 48, includeany combination of software, hardware, firmware and generally anyexecutable instructions operable by one or more processors resident onor remote from user manager server 36. In one aspect, this module isexecuted by resident processing engine 42. Event position determinationmodule 38 is executable by user manager server 36, specificallyprocessing engine 42, to manage the collection of data logs 34 fromwireless devices 12, 14, 16, 17, 18. Event position determination module38 may “pull” the logs 34 based on commands from a user, or the logs maybe “pushed” from the respective wireless devices 12, 14, 16, 17, 18 atpredetermined times or upon reaching predetermined memory/data storagelevels. Specifically, processing engine 42 may execute event positiondetermination module 38 to parse and process data log 34 to generateevent record 44. In another aspect, a resident version of event positiondetermination module 38 may be downloaded by user manager server 36 toeach wireless device 12, 14, 16, 17, 18 so that each respective devicemay locally generate event record 44. Additionally, the resident versionof event position determination module 38 may also be loaded onto therespective wireless device during the initial assembly process, or viaserial connections during a configuration process.

In one or more aspects, user manager server 36 (or plurality of servers)sends software agents, or applications, including event tracking module20 and/or location module 22, to wireless devices 12, 14, 16, 17, 18such that the wireless devices return data from their residentapplications and subsystems. Further, there can be separate servers orcomputer devices associated with user manager server 36 that work inconcert to provide data in usable formats, and/or a separate layer ofcontrol in the data flow between the wireless devices 12, 14, 16, 17, 18and user manager server 36.

Event record 44 may be presented in any format, such as in a table, in agraphic, in an audio file, etc., that enables a user of system 10 toutilize the associated event 26 and estimated geographic position 46.

In the disclosed aspects, access to, processing of, and updating of anyof the components of user manager server 36, whether the components areresident on user manager server 36 or remotely accessible by usermanager server 36, may be performed by a user, through a user interface,or any combination of software, hardware, firmware and generally anyexecutable instructions operable by one or more processors, througheither a direct or remote connection, from any of a wireless device 12,14, 16, 17, 18, user manager server 36, or any other network component.As one example, through the input of commands by a user through astandard HTTP, an FTP or some other data transfer protocol interfacedwith the respective wireless device, processing engine 42 is invoked toexecute event position determination module 38 to provide access to andprocessing of data log 34 to generate event record 44.

FIG. 2 is a more detailed schematic diagram of a cellular telephoneaspect of FIG. 1. The cellular wireless network 11 and plurality ofcellular telephones 12 of FIG. 2 are merely exemplary, and the disclosedaspects can include any system whereby any remote modules, such aswireless devices 12, 14, 16, 17, 18, communicate over-the-air betweenand among each other and/or between and among components of a wirelessnetwork, including, without limitation, wireless network carriers and/orservers. FIG. 2 illustrates three main components, namely the wirelessnetwork area 50 of FIG. 1, the network interface 52 of FIG. 1, and aserver environment 54. In addition, a local computer platform 56pertaining to exemplary cellular telephones 12 is illustrated, whosefeatures and functions, including its components, are described furtherin the aspects below.

Wireless network area 50 is illustrated to include a plurality ofcellular telephones 12. In addition, wireless network area 50 includeswireless network 32, as previously described with respect to FIG. 1.Here, wireless network 32 includes multiple base stations (“BTS”) 58 anda mobile switching center (“MSC”) 60.

MSC 60 may be connected to network interface 52, specifically itscomponent carrier network 62, through either a wired or wirelineconnection network 64. For example, network 64 may comprise a dataservices network, a switched voice services network, often referred toas POTS (“plain old telephone service”), and/or a combination of both,including for example an Internet portion of a network for datainformation transfer and a POTS portion of a network for voiceinformation transfer. For example, typically, in network 64, network orInternet portions transfers data, and the POTS portion transfers voiceinformation transfer.

MSC 60 may also be connected to the multiple BTS's 58 by another network66. Network 66 may carry data and/or switched voice information. Forexample, network 66 may comprise a data network, a voice network, and/ora combination of both, including for example an Internet portion of anetwork for data transfer and a POTS portion of a network for voiceinformation transfer.

BTSs 58 are wirelessly connected to exemplary cellular telephones 12 inwireless network area 50. For example, BTS 58 may ultimately broadcastmessages wirelessly to cellular telephones 12 or receive messageswirelessly from cellular telephones 12, via POTS switched voice service,data transfer services (including short messaging service (“SMS”)), orother over-the-air methods.

The use of cellular telecommunication pathways has increased becausewireless devices, such as the shown cellular telephones 12, are beingmanufactured with increased computing capabilities and are becomingtantamount to personal computers and hand-held personal digitalassistants (“PDAs”), communicating packets including voice and data overwireless network 32. These “smart” cellular telephones 12 have installedapplication programming interfaces (“APIs”) 68 onto their local computerplatform 56 that allow software developers to create softwareapplications that operate on the cellular telephone, and control certainfunctionality on the device. The features and functions associated withcellular telephones 12, as exemplary of wireless devices 12, 14, 16, 17,18, including its components, are described further in the aspectsbelow.

As noted, the second component of FIG. 2 is network interface 52.Although described with respect to FIG. 1, network interface 52 isillustrated in greater detail for the aspects of this FIG. 2.Specifically, network interface 52 is shown to include carrier network62, data link 70 and local area network (“LAN”) 72.

The features and functions associated with data link 70 and LAN 72 aredescribed below with reference to server environment 54.

Carrier network 62 is any regional, national or international networkoffering switched voice communication and/or data communicationservices. As such, carrier network 64 may include switched voice or dataservice provider communications facilities and lines, including dataand/or switched voice information, or any combination of both, includingfor example an Internet portion of a network for data transfer and aPOTS portion of a network for voice information transfer. In one aspect,carrier network 62 controls messages, generally in the form of datapackets, sent to or received from a mobile switching center (“MSC”) 60.

The third main component of FIG. 2 is server environment 54. Serverenvironment 54 is the environment wherein the above described usermanager server 36 functions. As illustrated, server environment 54 mayinclude the user manager server 36, a separate data repository 74, anddata management server 76.

In system 11, user manager server 36 can be in communication over LANnetwork 72 (of network interface 52) with a separate data repository 74for storing the data gathered from the remote wireless devices 12, 14,16, 17, 18, such as the respective data logs 34. Further, datamanagement server 76 may be in communication with user manager server 36to provide post-processing capabilities, data flow control, etc. Usermanager server 36, data repository 74 and data management server 76 maybe present on the illustrated network with any other network componentsthat are needed to provide cellular telecommunication services. Usermanager server 36, and/or data management server 76 communicate withcarrier network 62 through a data link 70 (of network interface 52) suchas the Internet, a secure LAN, WAN, or other network.

Referring back to wireless network area 50, as noted each exemplarycellular telephones 12 may include a local computer platform 56. Eachlocal computer platforms 56 is operable to permit a wireless device 12,14, 16, 17, 18, such as cellular phones 12, to transmit data acrosswireless network 32, or receive data from wireless network 32, inaddition to receiving and executing software applications, anddisplaying data transmitted from user manager server 36 or anothercomputer device connected to wireless network 32. Computer platform 56includes memory 78 (including resident event tracking module 20 andlocation module 22), application programming interface (“API”) 68,application-specific integrated circuit (“ASIC”) 77, and local database80. Each of the aforementioned components may be resident on thewireless devices 12, 14, 16, 17, 18, or alternatively, may be remotelyaccessible by wireless devices 12, 14, 16, 17, 18. The features andfunctions associated with local computer platform 56 of wireless devices12, 14, 16, 17, 18, including its components, are described further inthe aspects below.

FIG. 3 is a more detailed view of local computer platform 56 of anywireless device, such as exemplary cellular telephones 12, shown withreference to FIG. 2 above. The illustrated local computer platform 56 ismerely exemplary and can include any system for implementing thefunctions of the present aspects. As noted with reference to FIG. 2, andas illustrated in FIG. 3, computer platform 56 includes memory 78,application programming interface (“API”) 68, and application-specificintegrated circuit (“ASIC”) 77. In the disclosed aspects, each of theaforementioned components may be resident on the wireless devices 12,14, 16, 17, 18, or alternatively, may be remotely accessible by wirelessdevices 12, 14, 16, 17, 18.

Beginning with ASIC 77, this component may comprise anapplication-specific integrated circuit, or other chipset, processor,microprocessor, logic circuit, or other data processing device. ASIC 77performs one or more processing functions for the respective wirelessdevice. ASIC 77, or another processor, may execute API layer 68 thatinterfaces with a module resident on or remotely accessible from thewireless devices 12, 14, 16, 17, 18, to perform a given function. Theforegoing is performed through API software extensions, as describedbelow. As shown, ASIC 77 may execute, through API layer 68, eventtracking module 20 and location module 22.

As shown in FIG. 3, in one or more described aspects ASIC 77 comprises,in whole or in part, communications processing engine 82. Communicationsprocessing engine 82 includes various processing subsystems 84, embodiedin hardware, firmware, software, and combinations thereof, that enablethe functionality of the respective wireless device 12, 14, 16, 17, 18and the operability of the respective device on wireless network 32,such as for initiating and maintaining communications, and exchangingdata, with other networked devices.

For example, in one aspect, communications processing engine 82 mayinclude one or a combination of processing subsystems 84, such as:sound, non-volatile memory, file system, transmit, receive, searcher,layer 1, layer 2, layer 3, main control, remote procedure, handset,power management, diagnostic, digital signal processor, vocoder,messaging, call manager, Bluetooth® system, Bluetooth® LPOS, positiondetermination, position engine, user interface, sleep, data services,security, authentication, USIM/SIM, voice services, graphics, USB,multimedia such as MPEG, GPRS, etc.

For the disclosed aspects, processing subsystems 84 of communicationsprocessing engine 82 may include any subsystem components that interactwith applications executing on computer platform 56. For example,processing subsystems 84 may include any subsystem components, whichreceive data reads and data writes from API 68 on behalf of eventtracking module 20 and location module 22.

API 68 is a runtime environment executing on the respective wirelessdevice. An exemplary runtime environment is Binary Runtime Environmentfor Wireless® (BREW®) software developed by QUALCOMM, Inc., of SanDiego, Calif. Other runtime environments may be utilized that, forexample, operate to control the execution of applications on wirelesscomputing devices. API 68 may include a class of software extensionsthat allow the resident version, or remotely accessible version, of amodule to be processed by communications processing engine 82. Thesesoftware class extensions can communicate with processing subsystems 84on the wireless device, which allows both data reads and commands. Forexample, the software extension can send commands on behalf of theapplications that invoke it. The module can then forward the responsesof the subsystems ultimately across wireless network area 50 to usermanager server 36. Each resident application or module on wirelessdevice can create an instance of this new software extension tocommunicate with the subsystems independently.

Memory 78 may be any type of memory, including read-only memory (“ROM”),random-access memory (“RAM”), EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory cells,secondary or tertiary storage devices, such as magnetic media, opticalmedia, tape, or soft or hard disk, whether resident on computer platform56 or remotely accessible from computer platform 56. Computer platform56 may also include a local database 80 (FIG. 2) that can hold thesoftware applications, files, or data not actively used in memory 78,such as the software applications or data downloaded from user managerserver 36. Local database 80 typically includes one or more flash memorycells, but can be any secondary or tertiary storage device, such asmagnetic media, EPROM, EEPROM, optical media, tape, or soft or harddisk. Additionally, local database 80 can ultimately hold a local copyof event tracking module 20 and location module 22.

In one aspect, memory 78 includes event tracking module 20 having logic90 executable by communications processing engine 82 through API 68 toidentify a predetermined event 26 based on an event trackingconfiguration 92 that defines parameters for monitoring processing data94 within processing subsystems 84. For instance, user manager 36 may beutilized to develop and transmit event-tracking configuration 92 to therespective wireless device. Event tracking configuration 92 may identifywhat processing data 94 to monitor, when to monitor the processing data,how to collect and store the data, and when to transmit the collecteddata to user manager 36. Additionally, processing data 94 withinsubsystems 84 may include predetermined events, predetermined data,and/or predetermined sequences or sets of data and/or events. Upondetection of event 26 as defined by event tracking configuration 92,event-tracking logic 90 causes event information 24 to be stored in datalog 34. In one aspect, for example, event information 24 comprises event26, such as a description, indicator and/or representation of theconfigured event, and event time 98, such as a timestamp correspondingto the time of occurrence of the event. Further, upon detection of event26, event-tracking logic 90 triggers a position determination request 96to be sent to location module 22.

Location module 22 has location retrieval logic 100 operable to allowlocation module 22 to receive position determination request 96 andsubsequently generate a location fix request 102 through API 68 to adesignated processing subsystem component, such as a position servicecomponent 104. Additionally, location retrieval logic 100 is executableto initiate storage of the resulting location fix information 28 in datalog 34. Location fix information 28 may include a geographic position orlocation fix of the wireless device and a location fix time associatedwith the geographic position. Additionally, depending how the geographicposition is determined, location fix information 28 may also include anassociated location fix velocity or speed of the wireless device.

There may be a plurality of location fix information 28 stored in datalog 34. As such, there may be a first set of location fix information106 having a first geographic position 108, a first fix time 110 and afirst fix speed 112, where first fix time 110 is a time prior to eventtime 98. Additionally, there may be a second set of location fixinformation 114 having a second geographic position 116, a second fixtime 118 and a second fix speed 120 associated with location fix request102 triggered by the occurrence of event 26, where second fix time 118is a time after event time 98.

In one aspect, position service (“PS”) component 104, when executed bycommunications processing engine 82, retrieves location fix information28 from an external source, such as position determination entity 30(FIG. 1). PS component 104 may perform its functions, for example, basedon the aforementioned location fix request 102, upon powering up of thewireless device, upon initiating execution of a given application ormodule, upon predetermined time intervals, upon other specific requestsfrom other applications or modules, and/or upon a synchronized timebasis, etc. In the disclosed aspects PS component 104 is one example ofa component used in coordination with, or in relation to, the componentsof location module 22.

Location module 22 may comprise, in whole or in part, a geographicinformation system (“GIS”), such as a tool used to gather, transform,manipulate, analyze, and produce information related to the surface ofthe earth. Such a GIS can be as complex as a whole system usingdedicated databases and workstations hooked up to a network, or assimple as “off-the-shelf” desktop software. One example of such a systemmay include the QPoint™ Positioning Software and gpsOne® hybrid AssistedGPS wireless location technology, available from QUALCOMM, Inc. of SanDiego, Calif.

In one aspect, such a GIS may include a global positioning system(“GPS”), such as a satellite navigational system formed by satellitesorbiting the earth and their corresponding receivers on the earth. TheGPS satellites continuously transmit digital radio signals that containdata on the satellites' location and the exact time to the earth-boundreceiver. The satellites are equipped with atomic clocks that areprecise, for example, to within a billionth of a second. Based on thisinformation the receivers know how long it takes for the signal to reachthe receiver on earth. As each signal travels at the speed of light, thelonger it takes the receiver to get the signal, the farther away thesatellite is located. By knowing how far away a satellite is, thereceiver knows that it is located somewhere on the surface of animaginary sphere centered at the satellite. By using three satellites,GPS can calculate the longitude and latitude of the receiver based onwhere the three spheres intersect. By using four satellites, GPS canalso determine altitude. In addition to transmitting location parametersassociated with the location of the wireless devices, the GPS satellitesmay also transmit speed parameters associated with the speed of thewireless devices.

In another aspect, such a GIS may include, in whole or part, aterrestrial-based or hybrid positioning system whereby location module22, PS component 104, and/or some other remote position determinationentity 30, determine the geographical position of the wireless devicesbased, at least in part, on network-based measurements. For instance,communication signals may be exchanged between the respective wirelessdevice and network components of wireless network area 50. Thesecommunication signals include timing information that enables locationmodule 22, PS component 104, and/or some other remote positiondetermination entity 30 to compute a relative position, and hence ageographic position, of the wireless device with respect to a knownposition. For example, such communications signals may include thesignals periodically exchanged between wireless devices 12, 14, 16, 17,18 and BTS 58. Such a terrestrial-based system may also be utilized incombination with a GPS-based system.

Referring to FIG. 4, as noted above, user manager 36 receives data log34 from the respective wireless device 12, 14, 16, 17, 18 in order todetermine if there is a geographic position that can be associated witha detected event. Event position determination module 38 includes eventposition determination logic 40 that reviews the information containedwithin data log 34 in view of one or more predetermined conditions 48that test a perceived validity of a geographic position underconsideration to be associated with event 26. For example, in oneaspect, predetermined conditions 48 include a time threshold condition122, a distance threshold condition 124, and a low time thresholdcondition 126. In one aspect, these conditions determine whether or nota given set of location fix information, and hence a given geographicposition, is close enough to the event in a distance domain, based onspeed information contained in the location fix information, to beassociated with the event. Ultimately, in this aspect, these conditionsattempt to select as an estimated geographic position the positionassociated with the location fix that is closest in distance to theactual position of the event. When speed information is not availablewith the location fix information, then these aspects look to the timedifference between the event time and the respective location fix and,for example, select the smallest time difference.

In one aspect, for example, time threshold condition 122 includes apredetermined first time threshold value 128 corresponding to a desiredmaximum amount of time between the occurrence of event 26 and the timeof the location fix in order for the fix to be considered forassociation with the event. The time threshold condition 122 mayadditionally include a predetermined second time threshold value 129corresponding to a desired maximum amount of time between the occurrenceof event 26 and the time of the location fix in order for the fix to beconsidered for association with the event. Time threshold values 128 and129 may vary depending on the situation. For instance, a first scenariowhere it is known that the wireless device is moving at a relativelyfast speed may have a smaller time threshold value 128 and/or 129 than asecond scenario where it is known that the wireless device is moving ata relatively slow speed, i.e. a speed slower than the first scenariospeed. In one aspect, event position determination logic 40 invokes atime difference module 130 to calculate a time difference 132 betweenevent time 98 and a location fix time, such as first fix time 110 orsecond fix time 118, associated with a geographic position, such asfirst geographic position 108 or second geographic position 116,retrieved from data log 34. Further, event position determination logic40 causes processing engine 42 to compare time difference 132 to timethreshold value 128 or 129 to determine if time threshold condition 122is achieved.

Distance threshold condition 124 includes a predetermined distancethreshold value 134 corresponding to a desired maximum distance betweenthe location of event 26 and the location of the location fix in orderfor the fix to be considered for association with the event. Distancethreshold value 134 may vary depending on the situation. For instance, afirst scenario where a user of these apparatus and methods desires avery accurate geographic position to associate with the event may have asmaller distance threshold value 134 than a second scenario where theuser requires a less accurate geographic position, i.e. a position thatmay be further away from the actual event position when compared to theassociated position in the first scenario. In one aspect, event positiondetermination logic 40 invokes a distance traveled module 136 tocalculate a distance traveled 138 based on time difference 132associated with a given set of location fix information and a wirelessdevice speed associated with the fix information, such as first fixspeed 112 or second fix speed 120 associated, respectively, with firstgeographic position 108 or second geographic position 116, as retrievedfrom data log 34. Further, event position determination logic 40 causesprocessing engine 42 to compare distance traveled 138 to distancethreshold value 134 to determine if distance threshold condition 124 isachieved.

Low time threshold condition 126 includes a predetermined low timethreshold value 140 corresponding to a desired maximum amount of timebetween the occurrence of event 26 and the time of the geographiclocation fix, in order for the fix to be considered for association withthe event, when a corresponding wireless device speed is not availablewith the fix. For instance, event position determination logic 40computes low time threshold value 140 as a function of distancethreshold value 134 divided by a predetermined maximum speed value 142.The predetermined maximum speed value 142 corresponds to a desiredmaximum speed to be associated with the respective wireless device in asituation where speed information is not available as a part of a givenset of location fix information 28. Predetermined maximum speed value142 may vary depending on the situation. For instance, predeterminedmaximum speed value 142 may be a higher value in a first scenarioevaluating wireless devices operating on a highway when compared to asecond scenario where the wireless devices are operating in citystreets. In one aspect, event position determination logic 40 causesprocessing engine 42 to compare time difference 132 to low timethreshold value 140 to determine if low time threshold condition 126 isachieved.

Time bias condition 127 includes a time bias value 131 corresponding toan average difference between the time of the location fix and the timeat which the location fix is requested. The time bias value 131 maysubsequently be used by the event position determination logic 40 todetermine a preferred location fix from among valid pre- and post-eventlocation fixes. In one aspect, the time difference (T1) between thepre-event location fix and the event is compared to the time difference(T2) between the post-event location fix and the event less the timebias and, if T1 is less than (T2−time bias), then the pre-event locationfix is determined to be the “preferred” fix that is to be associatedwith the event. Conversely, if T1 is greater than or equal to (T2−timebias), then the post-event location fix is determined to be the“preferred” fix that is to be associated with the event.

It should be noted that time threshold value 128/129, distance thresholdvalue 134 predetermined maximum speed value 142, and time bias 131either individually or in any combination, may be set as default values,or they may be modifiable by a user of system 10.

Further, time threshold value 128/129, distance threshold value 134predetermined maximum speed value 142 and time bias 131 can each varydepending on the scenario being tested, the environment associated withthe test scenario, the type of wireless device, the type of wirelessnetwork components, the type of wireless communications protocol, thetype of and retrieval speed of the particular service providing thelocation fix information, as well as other subjective factors, such as adesired relative accuracy or granularity of the associated geographicposition. In one non-limiting example, for instance, one test scenarioinvolved call drops by CDMA-based cellular telephones in an urban area.In this example, hundreds of sets of data were analyzed, including thecall drop event and the location fix information, and it was determinedthat most of the valid fixes were obtained within 120 seconds of thecall drop event, and based on a marketing analysis, an accuracy of 2000feet was desired. Further, since this test scenario occurred in an urbanarea close to a highway, a maximum speed of 65 miles per hour wasexpected. Thus, in this one example, first time threshold value 128 wasset at 120 seconds, distance threshold value 134 was set at 2000 feet,and maximum speed was set at 65 miles/hour. It should be stressed,however, that this is just one non-limiting example, and that each ofthese thresholds may vary dramatically depending on the many factorsdiscussed above.

Based on the outcomes of testing the information contained in data log34 against one or any combination of the predetermined conditions 48,event position determination logic 40 may be executable to associate oneset of location fix information 28 with a set of event information 24,and hence to determine estimated geographic position 46 of event 26.

Event record 44 can give a ready view of estimated geographic position46 and event 26 in any form, such as tables, maps, graphics views, plaintext, interactive programs or web pages, or any other display orpresentation of the data. Event record 44 includes any form of outputthat represents a position related characteristic or parameter, as wellas any other related data, associated with the event information fromdata log 34 of one or more respective wireless devices.

In operation, system 10 implements a method of associating a geographicposition with an event that occurs on a wireless device. In one aspect,the method evaluates at least one set of location fix information todetermine if the geographic position associated with the fix isappropriate to associate with the event based on one or more conditions.

In one aspect, referring to FIG. 5 for example, the method optionallyinvolves receiving event-tracking parameters comprising anevent-tracking configuration to identify a predetermined eventassociated with data processed by a wireless device (Block 150). Themethod further optionally involves transmitting the event-trackingconfiguration to the respective wireless device (Block 152), such as bytransmitting the configuration across a wireless network. These actionsmay be performed, for example, by a technician, field service engineeror any other operator of user manager server 36. The result of theseactions is event-tracking configuration 92 utilized by event trackingmodule 20 of the respective wireless device 12, 14, 16, 17, 18.

Further, the method includes receiving and storing one or more data logsfrom the respective wireless device, where the data logs include eventinformation and location fix information as dictated by the eventtracking configuration (Block 154). In one aspect, event tracking module20 and location module 22 are executable by communications processingengine 82 of the respective wireless device 12, 14, 16, 17, 18 tocollect event information 24 and location fix information 28 in data log34, such as based on the detection of a predetermined event 26.

Additionally, the method may optionally include receiving settings for apredetermined first time threshold, a predetermined distance thresholdand a predetermined maximum speed (Block 156). As mentioned above, thesesettings may be user-defined or predefined, default values of first timethreshold 128, distance threshold 134 and maximum speed 142. Thesevalues may be entered into event position determination module 38 by anoperator of user manager 36.

After receiving the data log, the method includes calculating a timedifference between the event time and the location fix time in the datalog (Block 158). In one aspect, processing engine 42 executes eventposition determination logic 40 to invoke time difference module 130 tocalculate time difference 132, as detailed above.

The method continues by determining if the time difference meets thetime threshold condition (Block 160). In one aspect, processing engine42 executes event position determination logic 40 to compare timedifference 132 to first time threshold 128, as detailed above.

If the time difference is greater than the time threshold, then themethod concludes that the geographic position associated with thelocation fix information may not be validly associated with the eventassociated with the event information (Block 162).

If the time difference meets the time threshold condition, then themethod continues by determining if a speed is available in associationwith the location fix information (Block 164).

If the speed is available, then the method continues by calculating thedistance traveled (Block 166). In one aspect, processing engine 42executes event position determination logic 40 to invoke distancetraveled module 136 to calculate distance traveled 138, as detailedabove. Then, the method continues by determining if the distancetraveled meets the distance threshold condition (Block 168). In oneaspect, processing engine 42 executes event position determination logic40 to compare distance traveled 138 to distance threshold 134, asdetailed above. If the distance traveled meets the distance thresholdcondition, then the method concludes that the geographic position isvalid, and associates the location fix information, including thegeographic position, with the event information, including the event(Block 170). In one aspect, for example, processing engine 42 executesevent position determination module 38 to generate event record 44, asdetailed above. Optionally, if the method reaches this point with twosets of location fix information, i.e. a first set corresponding to theclosest fix before the event and a second set corresponding to theclosest fix after the event, then pick the set of location fixinformation having the smaller of the two distances traveled (Block172). If the distance traveled does not meet the distance thresholdcondition, then the method concludes that the geographic position is notvalid, and no association is made between the location fix information,including the geographic position, and the event information, includingthe event (Block 162).

If the speed is not available, then the method continues by calculatingthe low time threshold (Block 174). In one aspect, processing engine 42executes event position determination logic 40 to divide distancethreshold 134 by maximum speed 142 to determine low time threshold value140, as detailed above. Then, the method continues by determining if thetime difference meets the low time threshold condition (Block 176). Inone aspect, processing engine 42 executes event position determinationlogic 40 to compare time difference 132 to low time threshold value 140,as detailed above. If the time difference meets the low time thresholdcondition, then the method concludes that the geographic position isvalid, and associates the location fix information, including thegeographic position, with the event information, including the event(Block 170). In one aspect, for example, processing engine 42 executesevent position determination module 38 to generate event record 44, asdetailed above. Optionally, if the method reaches this point with twosets of location fix information, i.e. a first set corresponding to theclosest fix before the event and a second set corresponding to theclosest fix after the event, then pick the set of location fixinformation having the smaller of the two time differences (Block 178).If the time difference does not meet the low time threshold condition,then the method concludes that the geographic position is not valid, andno association is made between the location fix information, includingthe geographic position, and the event information, including the event(Block 162).

Other aspects of the above-defined method make decisions regardingmultiple sets of location fix information.

For example, in one aspect, one set of device location and speedparameters corresponding to a location fix closest in time before theoccurrence of the event may be compared to one set of device locationand speed parameters corresponding to a location fix closest in timeafter the occurrence of the event. The fix that achieves a predeterminedtime threshold and a predetermined distance threshold is used toestimate the position of the wireless device during the occurrence ofthe event. There may be situations where both location fixes achievethese thresholds, and thus further criteria are utilized to determinethe more valid fix to associate with the event.

For example, in one aspect, the distance between the location fixclosest in time before the occurrence of the event and the eventlocation, is compared to the distance between the location fix closestin time after the occurrence of the event and the event location, andthe location fix corresponding to the shorter distance is chosen as theestimated position of the wireless device during the occurrence of theevent.

In contrast, in another aspect, the time difference between the locationfix of the wireless device closest in time before the occurrence of theevent and the event time, is compared to the time difference between thelocation fix of the wireless device closest in time after the occurrenceof the event and the event time, and the location fix corresponding tothe shorter time difference is chosen as the estimated position of thewireless device during the occurrence of the event.

In the operation of these aspects, FIGS. 6-11 are flow chartsillustrating a method for estimating the position of a wireless devicecorresponding to the occurrence of a wireless device operational event.As used herein, the term “fix” refers to a determined fixed geographicalposition for the wireless device, and “attached” refers to selecting aparticular location fix as the estimated location corresponding to theoccurrence of the event. Further, the term “applied” means underconsideration for being “attached” to the event, e.g. two fixes may be“applied” to an event, but only one fix may be “attached” to the event.

The following definitions apply for the aspects described with respectto FIGS. 6-11: G1—the location fix closest in time before the event,including its relevant parameters; G2—the location fix closest in timeafter the event, including its relevant parameters; TT—time threshold,as defined above, given the value of 120 second in one or more aspects;DT—distance threshold, as defined above; Maximum Speed—a predetermined,configurable maximum speed, as defined above; LTT—low time threshold, asdefined above; D1—estimated distance traveled by the wireless devicefrom the location fix before the event to the event itself, determinedby multiplying the speed associated with G1 by the time difference (TD1)between G1 and the event time; D2—estimated distance traveled by thewireless device from the event itself to the location fix after theevent, determined by multiplying the speed associated with G2 by thetime difference (TD2) between G2 and the event time; and F1, F2, F3,etc.—refer to failure events 1, 2, 3, etc. tracked according to theevent tracking module.

Referring to FIG. 6, after start (Block 402), if neither G1 nor G2 arewithin TT (Blocks 404 and 407), then there are no valid fixes that maybe associated with the event (Block 408). In other words, both fixeshave occurred outside of the given timeframe, and thus are notconsidered to validly represent the position of the event because theyare too far away in time.

Referring back to FIG. 6, after start (Block 402), control passes toCase 1 of FIG. 7 (Block 416) if G2 is within TT (Block 404), G1 iswithin TT (Block 406), and both location fixes contain speed (Block410). In other words, both fixes are within the given timeframe andcontain speed information. As such, Case 1 tests these fixes against thedistance threshold, and selects either the only fix within thethreshold, or the location fix having the smallest distance traveledwithin the threshold.

Referring to FIG. 7 (Block 502), G1 is attached if (i) G2 is within DT(Block 504), G1 is within DT (Block 506), and D1<D2 (Block 510), or if(ii) G2 is not within DT (Block 504) and G1 is within DT (Block 506). G2is attached if (i) G2 is within DT (Block 504) and G1 is not within DT(Block 506), or if (ii) G2 is within DT (Block 504), G1 is within DT(Block 506) and D2≦D1 (Block 520). If both distances are equal, then G2is chosen because it occurs after the event and thus may be more likelyto be based on the location fix request that occurs as a result ofdetecting the event. If G2 is not within DT (Block 504) and G1 is notwithin DT (Block 508), then no value is attached (Block 516). So, inthis instance, although both location fixes meet the time threshold,both fall outside of the distance threshold and are thereby consideredto be outside of a valid range of positions to associate with the event,as may occur when the wireless device is traveling at a high rate ofspeed.

Referring back to FIG. 6, after start (Block 402), control passes toCase 2 of FIG. 8 (Block 428) if both G1 and G2 are within TT (Blocks404, 406), and only one location fix contains speed (Blocks 410, 418).As such, Case 2 tests these two location fixes and first selects the onehaving speed if it falls within the distance threshold, and if not, thensecondly selects the one without the speed if it falls within the lowtime threshold. Alternatively, Case 2 selects neither fix if none ofthese conditions are satisfied.

Referring to FIG. 8 (Block 602), G1 is attached (Block 618 or 614) if(i) G2 contains speed (Block 604), G2 is not within DT (Block 606), andG1 is within LTT (Block 612), or if (ii) G2 does not contain speed(Block 604) and G1 is within DT (Block 608). G2 is attached (Blocks 610or 622) if (i) G2 contains speed (Block 604) and G2 is within DT (Block606), or if (ii) G2 does not contain speed (Block 604), G1 is not withinDT (Block 608), and G2 is within LTT (Block 616). No location fix isattached (Blocks 620 or 624) if either (i) G2 contains speed (Block604), G2 is not within DT (Block 606), and G1 is not within LTT (Block612), or if (ii) G2 does not contain speed (Block 604), G1 is not withinDT (Block 608), and G2 is not within LTT (Block 616).

Referring back to FIG. 6, after start (Block 402), control passes toCase 3 of FIG. 9 (Block 430) if G2 is within TT (Block 404), G1 iswithin TT (Block 406) and neither location fix contains speed (Blocks410, 418). As such, without having speed information to utilize, Case 3considers the time difference between each fix and the event time, andselects either the only location fix with a time difference within thelow time threshold or the location fix having the shortest timedifference. If none of these conditions are satisfied, then no locationfix is attached.

Referring to FIG. 9 (Block 702), G1 is attached (Block 718 or 714) if(i) G2 is within LTT (Block 704), G1 is within LTT (Block 706), andTD1<TD2 (Block 710), or if (ii) G2 is not within LTT (Block 704), and G1is within LTT (Block 708). G2 is attached (Block 720 or 712) if (i) G2is within LTT (Block 704), G1 is within LTT (Block 706), and TD2≦TD1(Block 710), or if (ii) G2 is within LTT (Block 704) and G1 is notwithin LTT (Block 706). No location fix is attached if G2 is not withinLTT (Block 704) and G1 is not within LTT (Block 708).

Referring back to FIG. 6, after start (Block 402), control passes toCase 4 of FIG. 10 (Blocks 420, 424) if either (i) G2 is within TT (Block404), G1 is not within TT (Block 406), and G2 contains speed (Block412), or if (ii) G2 is not within TT (Block 404), G1 is within TT (Block407), and G1 contains speed (Block 414). As such, when only a singlelocation fix is valid based on the time threshold and this fix includesspeed information, Case 4 selects the respective location fix if itmeets the distance threshold or no location fix is attached.

Referring to FIG. 10 (Block 802), the G (either G1 or G2) found to bewithin TT (FIG. 4) is compared to DT (Block 804). If this G is withinDT, it is attached (Block 806), and if not, no G is attached (Block808).

Referring back to FIG. 6, after start (Block 402), control passes toCase 5 of FIG. 11 (Blocks 422, 426) if either (i) G2 is within TT (Block404), G1 is not within TT (Block 406), and G2 does not contain speed(Block 412), or if (ii) G2 is not within TT (Block 404), G1 is within TT(Block 407), and G1 does not contain speed (Block 414). As such, whenonly a single location fix is valid based on the time threshold but thislocation fix does not include speed information, Case 5 selects therespective location fix if it has a time difference within the low timethreshold, or no location fix is attached.

Referring to FIG. 11 (Block 810), the G (either G1 or G2) found to bewithin TT (FIG. 4) is compared to LTT (Block 812). If this G is withinLTT, it is attached (Block 814), and if not, no G is attached (Block816).

FIGS. 12-29 are time line examples illustrating the above-notedpredetermined conditions. In each of these figures, it should be notedthat the timeline scenarios include the following parameters: TimeThreshold (TT)=120 seconds; Distance Threshold (DT)=609.6 meters, or2000 feet; Maximum Speed=29.05 meters/second or 65 miles/hour; and,based on DT/(Maximum Speed), Low Time Threshold (LTT)=20.97 seconds.

Beginning with FIGS. 12 and 13, these figures illustrate that it ispossible to apply up to two location fixes to each event that has notyet had a location fix associated with it. In FIG. 12, G1 904 and G2 912are applied to F2 906, F3 908 and F4 910 because G1 is the last locationfix to come before the respective failure and G2 is the first locationfix to come after the respective failure. In contrast, G2 912 is notapplied to F1 902 because G1 904, which is before G2 with respect to thetiming of F1, has already been applied to it. In FIG. 13, G1 1008 willbe applied to F1 1002, F2 1004 and F3 1006 because there was no previouslocation fix before these failure events. As such, FIG. 13 illustratesthe situation where only one set of location fix information may beutilized in order to determine a geographic position to associate with adetected event on the wireless device.

FIGS. 14 and 15 are general cases for the above noted logic of FIG. 6.In FIG. 14, G1 1102 is valid for F1 1104 because it came within TT, butG2 1106 is invalid because it is not within TT. In FIG. 15, G2 1206 isvalid because it came within TT relative to F1 1204, but G1 1202 isinvalid because it is not within TT.

FIGS. 16-18 demonstrate Case 1 of FIG. 7. In FIG. 16, G2 1306 isattached because both G1 1302 and G2 1306 are within DT relative to F11304, and D2 is less than D1. In FIG. 17, G1 1402 is attached becauserelative to F1 1404, G1 1402 is within DT and G2 1406 is outside of DT.In FIG. 18, no location fix is attached, because, relative to F1 1504,neither G1 1502 nor G2 1506 are within DT.

FIGS. 19-22 demonstrate Case 2 of FIG. 8. In FIG. 19, G2 1606 isattached because G2 contains speed and is within DT, and thus getspriority over G1 1602, which is also within DT relative to F1 1604 butdoes not contain speed. In FIG. 20, G1 1702 is attached because G2 1706contains speed but is not within DT relative to F1 1704, and G1 iswithin LTT. In FIG. 21, no location fix is attached because G2 1806contains speed but is not within DT relative to F1 1804, and G1 1802 isnot within LTT. In FIG. 22, G1 1902 is attached because G2 1906 does notcontain speed, and G1 contains speed and is within DT relative to F11904.

FIGS. 23-25 demonstrate Case 3 of FIG. 9. In FIG. 23, G2 2006 isattached because G2 is within LTT, and event though G1 2002 is withinLTT, G2 is selected because TD2<TD1 relative to F1 2004. In FIG. 24,even though both G1 2102 and G2 2106 are within TT relative to F1 2104,G2 2106 is attached because G2 2106 is within LTT and G1 2102 is notwithin LTT. In FIG. 25, although both G1 2202 and G2 2206 are within TTrelative to F1 2204, no location fix is attached because neither G1 norG2 are within LTT.

FIGS. 26 and 27 demonstrate Case 4 of FIG. 10. In FIG. 26, G2 2306 isattached because G1 2302 is not within TT and G2 contains speed and iswithin DT relative to F1 2304. In FIG. 27, no location fix is attachedbecause G2 2406 is not within TT and G1 2402 is not within DT relativeto F1 2404.

FIGS. 28 and 29 demonstrate Case 5 of FIG. 11. In FIG. 28, G2 2506 isattached because G1 2502 is not within TT relative to F1 2504 and G2 iswithin LTT. In FIG. 29, no location fix is attached because G2 2606 isnot within TT relative to F1 2604 and G1 2602 is not within LTT.

In the operation of further aspects, FIG. 30 is a flow chartillustrating a method for estimating the position of a wireless devicecorresponding to the occurrence of a wireless device operational event.In the aspect illustrated in FIG. 30 the location fixes having QoS thatresult in fixes based at least partly on terrestrial wirelesscommunication measurements. Such fixes, which may have the QoS adjusteddownward, are characteristically fixes that provide for minimal searchtime and, thus, the resulting location fix is characteristically basedon terrestrial measurements as opposed to satellite measurements, whichgenerally take longer periods of time to acquire. In certain aspects inwhich the wireless device is unable to obtain satellite-based locationfixes due to, for example, the inability to currently receive satellitesignals or the like or the wireless device is not configured to providefor satellite-based location determination, the wireless device may relyon QoS adjusted location fixes and in particular downward adjusted QoSlocation fixes. Lower QoS location fixes generally occur in less timethan corresponding high QoS location fixes. As previously noted certainlocation determination modes, such as Mobile Station-Assisted(MS-Assisted) mode may be configured to obtain both a terrestrial-basedfix and a satellite-based fix depending on the QoS applied to the mode.In this regard, the terrestrial-based location, while typically lessprecise accurate than the satellite-based fix, may be relied upon if theMS-Assisted mode is set to a lower QoS due to, for example, theinability to return a satellite-based fix. In other instances, in whichprecision accuracy of the fix may be sacrificed to insure the timelinessof the fix (e.g., when associating a fix with the event or the like), alower adjusted QoS location fix may be the preferred fix.

As previously noted, the term “fix” refers to a determined fixedgeographical position for the wireless device, and “attached” refers toselecting a particular location fix as the estimated locationcorresponding to the occurrence of the event. Further, the term“applied” means under consideration for being “attached” to the event,e.g. two fixes may be “applied” to an event, but only one fix may be“attached[ to the event.

The following definitions apply for the aspects described with respectto FIG. 30: N1—the location fix based at least partly on terrestrialwireless communication measurements closest in time before the event,including its relevant parameters; N2—the location fix based at leastpartly on terrestrial wireless communication measurements closest intime after the event, including its relevant parameters; TT—second timethreshold, as defined above, given the value of 240 second in one ormore aspects; LTT—low time threshold, as defined above; Time Bias—timebias, as defined above, given the value of 6 seconds in one or moreaspects.

Referring to FIG. 30, after start (Block 2500), if neither N2 is withinTT (Block 2502) nor N1 within LTT (Block 2504), then there are no validlocation fixes that may be associated with the event (Block 2506). Inother words, both location fixes have occurred outside of the giventimeframe, and thus are not considered to validly represent the positionof the event because they are too far away in time.

FIG. 34 provides a timeline representation example of a case in which N1is not within LTT, N2 is not within TT and thus no valid location fixexists and no location fix is attached to the event. In the exampleshown in FIG. 34, the Time Threshold (TT) is set to 240 seconds, the LowTime Threshold (LTT) is set to 20.97 seconds and the time bias is set to6 seconds. The failure event (F1) 2900 occurs at the 150 second markalong the timeline. The pre-event location fix (N1) 2902 occurs at the50 second mark along the timeline. Thus, the time difference between F12900 and the N1 2902 (150 seconds−50 seconds) is 100 seconds, which isgreater than the LTT of 20.97 seconds. Thus, N1 2902 is determined to bean invalid location fix. The post-event location fix (N2) 2904 occurs atthe 465 second mark along the timeline. Thus, the time differencebetween N2 2904 and F1 2900 (465 seconds−150 seconds) is 315 seconds,which is greater than the TT of 240 seconds. Thus, N2 2904 is determinedto be an invalid location fix. Since neither N1 2902 nor N2 2904 arevalid, no location fix is attached to the event.

Referring back to FIG. 30, after start (2500), control passes to Case 1of FIG. 31 (Block 2510) and the “preferred” location fix is attached tothe event, if N2 is within TT (Block 2502) and N1 is within LTT (Block2508). In other words, both location fixes are within the giventimeframe and are considered. As such, Case 1 determines the “preferred”location fix based on a comparison of the time difference (T1) betweenN1 and F1 and the time difference (T2) between N2 and F1 less the timebias.

FIG. 31 provides a timeline representation example of a case in which N1is within LTT, N2 is within TT, thus both location fixes are valid and a“preferred” location fix determination is required. In the example shownin FIG. 31, the Time Threshold (TT) is set to 240 seconds, the Low TimeThreshold (LTT) is set to 20.97 seconds and the time bias is set to 6seconds. The failure event (F1) 2600 occurs at the 150 second mark alongthe timeline. The pre-event location fix (N1) 2602 occurs at the 140second mark along the timeline. Thus, the time difference (T1) betweenF1 2600 and N1 2602 (150 seconds−140 seconds) is 10 seconds. Thepost-event location fix (N2) 2604 occurs at the 165 second mark alongthe timeline. Thus, the time difference (T2) between N2 2604 and F1 (165seconds−150 seconds) is 15 seconds and less the 6 second time bias (15seconds−6 seconds) the result is 9 seconds. Since, T2 less the time bias(9 seconds) is less than T1 (10 seconds), N2 2604 is determined to bethe “preferred” location fix and is attached to the event.

Referring back to FIG. 30, after start (2500), control passes to Case 2of FIG. 32 (Block 2512) and the N2 location fix is attached to theevent, because N2 is within TT (Block 2502) and N1 is not within LTT(Block 2508). In other words, only the N2 is valid and therefore it isattached to the event.

FIG. 32 provides a timeline representation example of a case in which N2is within TT, N1 is not within LTT, thus only N2 valid and N2 isattached to the event. In the example shown in FIG. 32, the TimeThreshold (TT) is set to 240 seconds, the Low Time Threshold (LTT) isset to 20.97 seconds and the time bias is set to 6 seconds. The failureevent (F1) 2700 occurs at the 150 second mark along the timeline. Thepre-event location fix (N1) 2702 occurs at the 50 second mark along thetimeline. Thus, the time difference (T1) between F1 2700 and N1 2702(150 seconds−50 seconds) is 100 seconds, which is greater than LTT of20.97 seconds and, thus N1 is not a valid fix. The post-event locationfix (N2) 2704 occurs at the 165 second mark along the timeline. Thus,the time difference (T2) between N2 2704 and F1 2700 (165 seconds−150seconds) is 15 seconds, which is less than the TT of 240 seconds, thusN2 is a valid location fix and is attached to the event.

Referring back to FIG. 30, after start (2500), control passes to Case 3of FIG. 33 (Block 2514) and the N1 location fix is attached to theevent, because N1 is within LTT (Block 2504) and N2 is not within LTT(Block 2502). In other words, only the N1 location fix is valid andtherefore it is attached to the event.

FIG. 33 provides a timeline representation example of a case in which N1is within LTT, N2 is not within TT, thus only N1 valid and N1 isattached to the event. In the example shown in FIG. 33, the TimeThreshold (TT) is set to 240 seconds, the Low Time Threshold (LTT) isset to 20.97 seconds and the time bias is set to 6 seconds. The failureevent (F1) 2800 occurs at the 150 second mark along the timeline. Thepre-event location fix (N1) 2802 occurs at the 140 second mark along thetimeline. Thus, the time difference (T1) between F1 2800 and N1 2802(150 seconds−140 seconds) is 00 seconds, which is less than LTT of 20.97seconds and, thus N1 is a valid fix. The post-event location fix (N2)2804 occurs at the 465 second mark along the timeline. Thus, the timedifference (T2) between N2 2804 and F1 2800 (465 seconds−150 seconds) is315 seconds, which is greater than the TT of 240 seconds, thus N2 is nota valid location fix and N1 is attached to the event.

Additionally, it should be noted that the method may include grantingaccess to event record 44 and/or data log 34 to other business orcommercial systems. To ensure the security and/or integrity of thecollected position data, such access may be granted in a monitoredfashion such as through a user manager. Further, other computer devices,including both storage and processing devices, can be located across thewireless network from the wireless device, and accordingly, thearchitecture associated with the user manager is readily scalable.

In summary, wireless device 12, 14, 16, 17, 18 can have at least oneapplication or agent resident (either permanent or temporarily) on thecomputer platform 56 thereof which causes the gathering of eventinformation 24 and location fix information 28 from communicationsprocessing engine 82, and which can effect selective transmission ofdata log 34 for that wireless device to another computer device (such asuser manager server 36) on the wireless network 32. If the wirelessdevice 12, 14, 16, 17, 18 is so embodied, data log 34 may be transmittedover an open communication connection from the wireless device 12, 14,16, 17, 18 to the wireless network 32, such as an open voice or datacall. If the wireless device is a cellular telephone 12 and the wirelessnetwork is a cellular telecommunication network, such as shown in FIG.2, data log 34 can be transmitted through short message service or otherwireless communication methods.

In view of portions of the method being executable on computer platform56 of a wireless device 12, 14, 16, 17, 18 and executed by processingengine 42 of user manager 36, the method includes a program resident ina computer readable medium, where the program directs a wireless device12, 14, 16, 17, 18 having a device platform 56 to perform collection,storage and transmission acts of the method. Such a program can beexecuted on any single computer platform, or can be executed in adistributed way among several computer platforms. Furthermore, themethod can be implemented by a program that directs a computer devicesuch as user manager server 36 to evaluate the validity of a geographicposition in association with an event through gathering and processingdata log 34 from the wireless devices 12, 14, 16, 17, 18.

The computer readable medium can be the memory 78 of the computerplatform 56 of the cellular telephone 12, or other wireless device 14,16, 17, 18, or can be in a local database, such as local database 80 ofthe device platform 50, or can be a data repository associated with usermanager 36. Further, the computer readable medium can be in a secondarystorage media that is loadable onto a wireless device computer platformor user manager, such as a magnetic disk or tape, optical disk, harddisk, flash memory, or other storage media as is known in the art.

Further, the method may be implemented, for example, by operatingportion(s) of the wireless network 32 and/or LAN 72, such as deviceplatform 56 and user manager server 36, to execute a sequence ofmachine-readable instructions. The instructions can reside in varioustypes of signal-bearing or data storage primary, secondary, or tertiarymedia. The media may comprise, for example, RAM (not shown) accessibleby, or residing within, the components of the wireless network 32 or LAN58. Whether contained in RAM, a diskette, or other secondary storagemedia, the instructions may be stored on a variety of machine-readabledata storage media, such as DASD (“direct access storage device”)storage (e.g., a conventional “hard drive” or a RAID (“redundant arrayof independent disks”) array), magnetic tape, electronic read-onlymemory (e.g., ROM, EPROM, or EEPROM), flash memory cards, an opticalstorage device (e.g. CD-ROM, WORM (write once, read many), DVD, digitaloptical tape), paper “punch” cards, or other suitable data storage mediaincluding digital and analog transmission media.

The various illustrative logics, logical blocks, modules, and circuitsdescribed in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may beimplemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a digitalsignal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit(ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmablelogic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardwarecomponents, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functionsdescribed herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor,but, in the alternative, the processor may be any conventionalprocessor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processormay also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., acombination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality ofmicroprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSPcore, or any other such configuration. Additionally, at least oneprocessor may comprise one or more modules operable to perform one ormore of the steps and/or actions described above.

Further, the steps and/or actions of a method or algorithm described inconnection with the aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly inhardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in acombination of the two. A software module may reside in RAM memory,flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, a harddisk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage mediumknown in the art. An exemplary storage medium may be coupled to theprocessor, such that the processor can read information from, and writeinformation to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storagemedium may be integral to the processor. Further, in some aspects, theprocessor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. Additionally,the ASIC may reside in a user terminal. In the alternative, theprocessor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in auser terminal. Additionally, in some aspects, the steps and/or actionsof a method or algorithm may reside as one or any combination or set ofcodes and/or instructions on a machine readable medium and/or computerreadable medium, which may be incorporated into a computer programproduct.

In one or more aspects, the functions described may be implemented inhardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implementedin software, the functions may be stored or transmitted as one or moreinstructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readablemedia includes both computer storage media and communication mediaincluding any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer programfrom one place to another. A storage medium may be any available mediathat can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and notlimitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM,CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or othermagnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carryor store desired program code in the form of instructions or datastructures and that can be accessed by a computer. Also, any connectionmay be termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if software istransmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using acoaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line(DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave,then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, orwireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave areincluded in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein,includes compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatiledisc (DVD), floppy disk and blu-ray disc where disks usually reproducedata magnetically, while discs usually reproduce data optically withlasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within thescope of computer-readable media.

While the foregoing disclosure discusses illustrative aspects and/orembodiments, it should be noted that various changes and modificationscould be made herein without departing from the scope of the describedaspects and/or embodiments as defined by the appended claims.Furthermore, although elements of the described aspects and/orembodiments may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural iscontemplated unless limitation to the singular is explicitly stated.Additionally, all or a portion of any aspect and/or embodiment may beutilized with all or a portion of any other aspect and/or embodiment,unless stated otherwise.

Many modifications and other aspects will come to mind to one skilled inthe art to which this invention pertains having the benefit of theteachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associateddrawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the aspect is not to belimited to the specific aspects disclosed and that modifications andother aspects are intended to be included within the scope of theappended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they areused in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes oflimitation. Accordingly, the described aspects are intended to embraceall such alterations, modifications and variations that fall within thespirit and scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, to the extent thatthe term “includes” is used in either the detailed description or theclaims, such term is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to theterm “comprising” as “comprising” is interpreted when employed as atransitional word in a claim.

1. A method for estimating a geographical position corresponding to awireless device event, comprising: receiving at least one of a firstgeographical position data of the wireless device corresponding to afirst location fix having a first Quality of Service (QoS) and a secondgeographical position data of the wireless device corresponding to asecond location fix having a second QoS, wherein the first and secondQoS result in fixes based at least partly on terrestrial wirelesscommunication measurements; and determining an estimated geographicalposition of the wireless device based on a predetermined relationshipbetween the event and at least one of the first geographical positiondata and the second geographical position data.
 2. The method accordingto claim 1, further comprising initiating the method based upon anevent-tracking configuration.
 3. The method according to claim 1,further comprising transmitting an event tracking configuration to awireless device across a wireless network, wherein the event trackingconfiguration controls the retrieval of at least one of the firstgeographical position data and the second geographical position datafrom a processing subsystem of the wireless device.
 4. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the predetermined relationship results inapplication of an estimated geographical position algorithm specific toboth first and second fixes being based at least partly on terrestrialwireless communication measurements.
 5. The method according to claim 1,wherein at least one of the first geographical position data and thesecond geographical position data are derived from a MobileStation-Assisted (MS-Assisted) mode of location determination.
 6. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the one of thefirst geographical position data and the second geographical positiondata correspond to an Advanced Forward Link Trilateration (AFLT)location fix.
 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the eventcorresponds to a predetermined operation of the wireless device.
 8. Themethod according to claim 7, wherein the event corresponds to one ormore predetermined configurable sequences of data associated with theoperation of the wireless device.
 9. The method according to claim 7,wherein the first geographical position data of the wireless devicecorresponds to a first fixed geographical position of the wirelessdevice before a time corresponding to the event, and wherein the secondgeographical position data of the wireless device corresponds to asecond fixed geographical position of the wireless device after the timecorresponding to the event.
 10. The method according to claim 5, whereindetermining an estimated geographical position of the wireless devicebased on a predetermined relationship comprises selecting the estimatedgeographical position of the wireless device from one of the firstgeographical position data of the wireless device and the secondgeographical position data of the wireless device.
 11. The methodaccording to claim 10, wherein the predetermined relationship comprisesone or more time relationships comprising a time difference between (a)a time corresponding to the event and (b) a time corresponding to anyone of: the first geographical position data and the second geographicalposition data.
 12. The method according to claim 11, further comprisingcomparing the one or more time relationships to one or morecorresponding predetermined time thresholds.
 13. The method according toclaim 12, wherein the one or more predetermined time thresholds comprisea predetermined time threshold and a low time threshold.
 14. The methodaccording to claim 13, wherein the predetermined time thresholdcomprises a predetermined maximum time difference between (a) a timecorresponding to either one of the first geographical position data ofthe wireless device and the second geographical position data of thewireless device, and (b) a time corresponding to the event.
 15. Themethod according to claim 13, wherein the low time threshold comprises atime taken by the wireless device to travel a predetermined distancethreshold at a predetermined maximum speed.
 16. The method of claim 13,further comprising selecting the first geographic position data as abasis for the estimated geographic position if, the first geographicalposition data corresponds to a first fixed geographical position of thewireless device before a time corresponding to the event and the firsttime difference between (a) a time corresponding to the firstgeographical position data, and (b) a time corresponding to the event iswithin the low time threshold, and the second geographical position datacorresponds to a second fixed geographic position of the wireless deviceafter the time corresponding to the event and the second time differencebetween (a) the time corresponding to the first geographical positiondata, and (b) a time corresponding to the event is outside of the timethreshold.
 17. The method of claim 13, further comprising selecting thesecond geographic position data as a basis for the estimated geographicposition if, the first geographical position data corresponds to a firstfixed geographical position of the wireless device before a timecorresponding to the event and the first time difference between (a) atime corresponding to the first geographical position data, and (b) atime corresponding to the event is outside of the low time threshold,and the second geographical position data corresponds to a second fixedgeographic position of the wireless device after the time correspondingto the event and the second time difference between (a) the timecorresponding to the first geographical position data, and (b) a timecorresponding to the event is within the time threshold.
 18. The methodaccording to claim 13, further comprising selecting one of the firstgeographical position data and the second geographical position data asa basis for the estimated geographical position if: the firstgeographical position data corresponds to a first fixed geographicalposition of the wireless device before a time corresponding to the eventand the first time difference between (a) a time corresponding to thefirst geographical position data, and (b) a time corresponding to theevent is within the low time threshold, and the second geographicalposition data corresponds to a second fixed geographic position of thewireless device after the time corresponding to the event and the secondtime difference between (a) a time corresponding to the firstgeographical position data, and (b) a time corresponding to the event iswithin the time threshold.
 19. The method according to claim 18, furthercomprising determining a preferred geographical position data from amongthe first and second geographical position data based on a comparison ofthe first time difference to the second time difference less a timebias, where the time bias is defined as an average difference between(a) a time corresponding to geographical position data and (c) the timecorresponding to a request for the geographical position data.
 20. Themethod according to claim 19, further comprising selecting the firstgeographical position data as a basis for the estimated geographicposition if the first time difference is less than the second timedifference less the time bias.
 21. The method according to claim 19,further comprising selecting the second geographic position data as abasis for the estimated geographic position if the first time differenceis greater than or equal to the second time difference less the timebias.
 22. At least one processor configured to estimate a geographicalposition corresponding to a wireless device event, comprising: a firstmodule for receiving at least one of a first geographical position dataof the wireless device corresponding to a first location fix having afirst Quality of Service (QoS) and a second geographical position dataof the wireless device corresponding to a second location fix having asecond QoS, wherein the first and second QoS result in fixes based atleast partly on terrestrial wireless communication measurements; and asecond module for determining an estimated geographical position of thewireless device based on a predetermined relationship between the eventand at least one of the first geographical position data and the secondgeographical position data.
 23. A computer program product, comprising:a computer-readable medium comprising: a first set of coded for causinga computer to receive at least one of a first geographical position dataof the wireless device corresponding to a first location fix having afirst Quality of Service (QoS) and a second geographical position dataof the wireless device corresponding to a second location fix having asecond QoS, wherein the first and second QoS result in fixes based atleast partly on terrestrial wireless communication measurements; and asecond set of codes for causing a computer to determine an estimatedgeographical position of the wireless device based on a predeterminedrelationship between the event and at least one of the firstgeographical position data and the second geographical position data.24. An apparatus, comprising: means for receiving at least one of afirst geographical position data of the wireless device corresponding toa first location fix having a first Quality of Service (QoS) locationfix and a second geographical position data of the wireless devicecorresponding to a second location fix having a second QoS, wherein thefirst and second QoS result in fixes based at least partly onterrestrial wireless communication measurements; and means fordetermining an estimated geographical position of the wireless devicebased on a predetermined relationship between n the event and at leastone of the first geographical position data and the second geographicalposition data.
 25. An apparatus for estimating a geographical positioncorresponding to a wireless device event, comprising: an event positiondetermination module operable to receive at least one of a first set oflocation fix information of the wireless device corresponding to a firstlocation fix having a first Quality of Service (QoS) and a second set oflocation fix information of the wireless device corresponding to asecond location fix having a second QoS, wherein the first and secondQoS result in fixes based at least partly on terrestrial wirelesscommunication measurements; and event position determination logicincluded in the module and operable to determine an estimatedgeographical position of the wireless device to associate with the eventbased on a predetermined relationship between the event and at least oneof the first set of location fix information and the second set oflocation fix information.
 26. The apparatus according to claim 25,wherein at least one of the first set of location fix information andthe second set of location information are generated based on adetection of a predetermined event on the wireless device.
 27. Theapparatus according to claim 25, wherein the event positiondetermination module is operable to transmit an event trackingconfiguration across a wireless network to the wireless device, whereinthe event tracking configuration is executable by the wireless device togenerate at least one of the first set of location fix information andthe second set of location information.
 28. The apparatus according toclaim 25, wherein the predetermined relationship results in applicationof an estimated geographical position algorithm specific to both firstand second fixes being based at least partly on terrestrial wirelesscommunication measurements.
 29. The apparatus according to claim 25,wherein at least one of the first set of location fix information andthe second set of location fix information are derived a MobileStation-Assisted (MS-Assisted) mode of location determination.
 30. Theapparatus of claim 25, wherein at least one of the one of the firstgeographical position data and the second geographical position datacorrespond to an Advanced Forward Link Trilateration (AFLT) locationfix.
 31. The apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the eventcorresponds to a predetermined operation of the wireless device.
 32. Theapparatus according to claim 31, wherein the event corresponds to one ormore predetermined configurable sequences of data associated with anoperation of the wireless device.
 33. The apparatus according to claim31, wherein the first location fix information corresponds to a firstlocation fix time prior to an event time, and wherein the secondlocation fix information corresponds to a second location fix time afterthe event time.
 34. The apparatus according to claim 31, wherein theevent position determination logic is further operable to determine theestimated geographical position based upon selecting one of the firstlocation fix information and the second location fix information. 35.The apparatus according to claim 34, wherein the predeterminedrelationship comprises one or more time relationships comprising a timedifference between (a) an event time corresponding to the event and (b)a time corresponding to either one of the first location fix informationand the second location fix information.
 36. The apparatus according toclaim 35, wherein the event position determination logic is furtheroperable to compare the one or more time relationships to one or morecorresponding predetermined time thresholds.
 37. The apparatus accordingto claim 36, wherein the one or more predetermined time thresholdscomprises a predetermined time threshold and a low time threshold. 38.The apparatus according to claim 36, wherein the predetermined timethreshold comprises predetermined maximum time difference between (a) atime corresponding to either one of the first location fix informationand the second location fix information, and (b) the event time.
 39. Theapparatus according to claim 36, wherein the low time thresholdcomprises a time taken by the wireless device to travel thepredetermined distance threshold at a predetermined maximum speed. 40.The apparatus according to claim 36, wherein the event positiondetermination logic is operable to select the first location fixinformation as a basis for the estimated geographic position if, thefirst location fix information corresponds to a first fixed geographicalposition of the wireless device before a time corresponding to the eventand a first time difference between (a) a time corresponding to thefirst location fix information, and (b) a time corresponding to theevent is within the low time threshold, and the second location fixinformation corresponds to a second fixed geographic position of thewireless device after the time corresponding to the event and a secondtime difference between (a) the time corresponding to the first locationfix information, and (b) a time corresponding to the event is outside ofthe time threshold.
 41. The apparatus according to claim 36, wherein theevent position determination logic is operable to select the secondlocation fix information as a basis for the estimated geographicposition if, the first location fix information corresponds to a firstfixed geographical position of the wireless device before a timecorresponding to the event and a first time difference between (a) atime corresponding to the first location fix information, and (b) a timecorresponding to the event is outside of the low time threshold, and thesecond location fix information corresponds to a second fixed geographicposition of the wireless device after the time corresponding to theevent and a second time difference between (a) the time corresponding tothe first location fix information, and (b) a time corresponding to theevent is within the time threshold.
 42. The apparatus according to claim36, wherein the event position logic is operable to select one of thefirst location fix information and the second location fix informationas the estimated geographical position if, the first location fixinformation corresponds to a first fixed geographical position of thewireless device before a time corresponding to the event and a firsttime difference between (a) a time corresponding to the first locationfix information, and (b) a time corresponding to the event is within thelow time threshold, and the second location fix information correspondsto a second fixed geographic position of the wireless device after thetime corresponding to the event and a second time difference between (a)the time corresponding to the first location fix information, and (b) atime corresponding to the event is within the time threshold.
 43. Theapparatus according to claim 42, wherein the event position logic isfurther operable to determining a preferred location fix informationfrom among the first and second location fix information based on acomparison of the first time difference to the second time differenceless a time bias, where the time bias is defined as an averagedifference between (a) a time corresponding to location fix informationand (c) the time corresponding to a request for the location fixinformation.
 44. The apparatus according to claim 43, wherein the eventposition logic is further operable to select the first location fixinformation as a basis for the estimated geographic position if thefirst time difference is less than the second time difference less thetime bias.
 45. The apparatus according to claim 43, wherein the eventposition logic is further operable to select the second location fixinformation as a basis for the estimated geographic position if thefirst time difference is greater than or equal to than or equal to thesecond time difference less the time bias.